Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse

Lighthouse

55°18′38″N 5°48′12″W / 55.310421°N 5.803254°W / 55.310421; -5.803254TowerConstructed1788Designed byThomas Smith

Constructionbrick towerAutomated1996Height12 m (39 ft)Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lanternMarkingswhite tower, ochre balcony, black lanternOperatorNational Trust for Scotland^[1] ^[2]Heritagecategory A listed building

LightFirst lit1820 (rebuilt)Focal height91 m (299 ft)Range24 nmi (44 km)CharacteristicFl (2) W 20s.

The Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse on Mull of Kintyre was the second lighthouse commissioned in Scotland by the Commissioners of the Northern Lights. It was designed and built by Thomas Smith and completed in 1788.^[3] Smith had previously designed the light at Kinnaird Head, but Mull of Kintyre was a far more substantial project, in a far more remote location.

The lighthouse was rebuilt in the 1820s. The light was fixed until 1906, when it was converted to flashing, and its power increased from 8,000 to 281,000 candelas.^[3] It was converted to electrical power in 1976, automated in 1996 and is now monitored from Edinburgh.

The former keeper's cottages are now run as holiday cottages by the National Trust for Scotland.^[4]

References

^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Argyll and Bute". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
^ Mull of Kintyre Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 11 May 2016
^ ^a ^b "Mull of Kintyre". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
^ "Lighthouse Accommodation". National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 17 January 2011.